Silence Isn't Required
by BookishTea
Summary: Kyle just wants to be able to not think about all of the stress he faces in life, so he finds this sense of calm in running. Or he did until Eric became a distraction.
Kyle loved to run, it was a protected pleasure of his. Out on a road or sidewalk, there was nothing but the dull thud of shoes against concrete. There wasn't any worry about upcoming tests or how he was going to become a lawyer and make his parents proud.

No, out there he briefly acknowledged his surroundings. The true pleasure came from running, and he didn't always know where. The lowness of the sun and the painful ache in his side are his guides, and only then did he make the trip back home.

So the day after his daily run, Kyle was surprised to find Eric stopping him after school.

"Hey, Kahl. Can you do me a favour?"

"Not a chance, fatass." Came the automatic reply.

"Come on, Kahl. Aren't we friends?"

Kyle pushed past him, back sore with the heavy weight of his backpack and the thick textbooks dedicated to law inside. He was much too young to be learning a second year university student's critera, but his father had offered them to him with a proud smile. They had once been his, "It's always a good idea to get a heads start, son."

If he was lucky then he could get two hours of jogging into the evening.

"I saw you running yesterday."

Kyle froze at the echoing voice, only twisting around to frown, "What's your point?"

Eric pressed himself on the back of his heels, a determined gleam in his eyes. And for a moment they merely stood there, alone in the eerily empty hallways of their school with only a strange tension between them. The penterating stare of Eric's had Kyle's stomach dropping, and he hated it. How Eric was always able to see things in a deeper and complicated sense, like he understood Kyle and all of his secrets. It was disheartening, not even his own flesh and blood understood him.

"I want to run like you do."

Kyle stood there numbly for a second longer.

"Fine." came the mumbled reply, and neither waited for the sickening silence to swallow the words up.

* * *

And like always, Kyle found himself stretching as he prepared himself for another workout. Instead of any old street, somehow Eric had convinced Kyle into going down a trail. He had done a few laps around here, but it wasn't his favourite. Even with the refreshing scent of pine in the air, Kyle hated when the stones from the path ended up in his shoes.

Stretching his hands towards the sky, Kyle peered over his shoulder. "You should do some stretches too."

Eric scoffed, wiping his mouth after squirting some water from his bottle. "Like hell I will, stretching is for pussies."

Kyle rolled his eyes, dropping his arms back down, "Then don't complain to me if you pull something." He glanced down to himself and back to Eric, comparing the two of them. He should have expected a shit show from accepting Eric's plea.

While Kyle wore light and sleek clothing that he had saved up for with his allowance, it was obvious that the brunette behind him just threw anything he could find together. Which meant the clothing his mother had bought him in hope that it would inspire him to work out, but had ended up in the back of his closet. It was clear that it was a size too small, and the shorts barely came mid thigh.

Unlike his own which were scarred from accidental mishaps, Eric's legs were as pale as the moonlight. They looked soft like a lady's, and the thought had Kyle pondering what they'd feel like against his own skin. Immediately he shook his head to erase the confusing thought.

"Alright, let's do this."

* * *

After thirty minutes into their jog, Kyle was surprised that Eric made it this far. It was true that despite Eric's boasts that he would be amazing and he would get fucking ripped from the workout, he had complained the whole way about it being torture and wheezed constantly.

Sweat glistened from Kyle's forehead, this was nothing to him.

But to Eric who did nothing but eat and plan from a distance away from physical harm, this was life and death. He had called a break, clutching at his chest as he bowed over in a gasping fit. Those plump legs from before shook and quivered from their inactivity.

Sighing more to himself than to Eric, Kyle placed a hand on the other's back. The action had Eric squinting at him, chest heaving with each shuttering breath.

The flushed state of Eric's creamy skin had Kyle gulping and dazed, "What did you eat before?" he finally managed.

It took Eric a while to calm his voice and remember, but soon enough he answered by saying, "A-a bag of chips and some chocolate cookies."

Kyle snorted in disgust, "Cartman, you can't eat that junk and expect to get healthy." He shook his head, kneeling to the ground to unzip the small backpack that hung from his shoulders. Inside were a few things that Kyle prepared for the worst and situations such as these: A medical kit, a flashlight, map of the South Park region, compass, water bottle, pocket knife, a lighter, and finally a few snacks.

He pulled out a cranberry flavoured granola bar, offering the package to Eric. Greedy from the lack of food in his belly, he ripped it from the other's hand and messily torn off the packaging and bit down.

A second later he spit some out, bits of it clung to the corners of his lips. "What the fuck is this?! Bark and bird shit?!"

Kyle's lips twitched with a smile, and quickly he looked away. "You better eat it, you aren't getting anymore."

To his concealed laughter, Eric grunted out a curse before he nibbled at it, "This is bullshit."

"No, it's cranberries."

Eric glared at him, pouting as he grumbled, "Cranberries fucking suck. They're the weak man's berry."

The sweaty impression of the brunette's meaty palm swatted at him when his laughter picked up, syncing together with a "Fuck off, Jew!"

He dodged away from the swipe, watching as the sun made its slow descent. Kyle sighed, pushing the curls of his hair away from his heated skin, "C'mon we better head back."

Eric groaned, and the valley echoed with the sound of it. Still, the pair walked side by side down the winding dirt path, isolated by the wall of swaying trees on either side.

Bathed in the orange and pinks of the sunset overhead, Eric asked between the layers of granola in his mouth, "Can we do this again sometime? I can already feel my six pack ready to pop out."

Kyle peered at him, comforted by the fact that the younger boy wasn't looking at him and was much too focused on watching the dirt for any stray roots.

He finally shrugged, "Sure, I guess. But you have to eat something healthy or else I'm not going anywhere with you."

Eric shot him a bright grin, bellowing "Sweet!" into the afternoon.


End file.
